Lawn renovating machine



g- 1950 A. B. BATCHELDER 2,

LAWN RENOVATING MACHINE Filed Sept. 20, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l 7 m C (3 F25- attorneg 5 9, 1950 A. B. BATCHELDER 2,520,488

LAWN RENOVATING MACHINE I Filed Sept. 20, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Smaentor 4414/1/15. 56 70/54 .052,

Patented Aug. 29, 1950 'LKWNRENOVATING MACHINE lAlsiinEBmBatchelfler;Ogden;Utah

hpplieatiohseliteniher 20,n1948,-Se11ia1 No.:50,212

-invention relates *to "a"'lawn renovating machine "of which the principal objects are? '(d) Tomaintain iawmgrass in a "beautifdl and "healthy state "of growth;

(79*) "To "effectively clean and dress *law-ns (c9 To exert a norn'bingaction-uponthe 'hlades of lawn grass upwardly from within the a-own zone Bfffie' root system thereof, th ns efiectually straightening any tanled=ornnatteii blaiil'es so aste expose these effectually to the flipping-Jaetiondia revdltirigSidkle berJ K 21 "To eliminate weeds and other robiecticcmaole growths;

(6) To rrpnovide'ia alight (cultivating .actioniinexpensively n 1: at propera intervals ==1thereby5invigsorating the root system of ithe i'grass: audienc'couraging the constant formatiomnf a live, massed-growth of inewrgrass;

(fl 1T0 removetrubbish dea'digrass and other objectionahleiitems whiehfordinaicily:are"not readviiyrreached;

1(a) T require l'considerably :less water than usual in; the-amaintenanceof wa'la'wn although at the same time establishin a i better growth of :grass.

'Ot-her objects will become :evident as (the :fol- 'lowing-.descriptioniprogresses- In -accomplishing the purpose-of thewinxzention, a rotatable renovator head-tis-vemployed which comprises first, a series "ofoppositely: directed staggered; 'zfinger :teeth: ispaeed' alternately apart along an axis of rotation, :the ieonsecutive tee-th beingvin ,s planes spaced along the-rotative axis; and second, one or move oppositely positioned siokleibarsiextendingiaxiallyotthe rotative axis.

The isicklelbars "are substantially :plane, themlane :being substantially ,penpendieularmto a c-radius, and properlyepaced apart from thenro'tative axis so as to be located .radially, somewhat within the tips of the aforementioned finger teeth. Thus 'the teeth act to erect' rass'hlades from the roots at -points alittle below the soil surface after which the :siclfiles lallmostiinstantane- .lously clip 'the erected. blades ipractically uni- "formly.

In' operation, the renovating Ihead Sis rotated with'extreme' rapidity, for :example, 1400 R. P. or. more, with the result that the points "of the 'radial'fingerte'eth revolve in-p1anes spaced of the-machine, whileiat the isameitimethe benetfit of .aawider axial spacing .of .the finger .teeth is attained at each ..rev.olution. This permits .a tclosestirring of .thesoil without the disadvan tages of finger\teeth spacedhaxially weloseetogether.

the accompanying drawing; which illustrates one-desirable embodiment .of .theeimzention,

Eig. 1 ,represents aplan yiemparts b eingibroken awayifonconvenienee; and other pants .in the foreground omitted;

Fig. .2, -a side elevation, showing the .nenovator headlandwrelatediparts .in .a retracted position;

Fig. 13 a :side elevation showingsthe menovator ahead :in an alternative, operating ;position;

Fig. -l,.a-seetion; ,takenion the \line 4-4 in Fig. 1, .the .renovator' head fleeing in i still another 13.1- iternati-velposition;

5, a hCIIQSSwSeCtiOn takenson ithewline 5-.5 .in Eigt .4;

.Ffig. 6, war-section taken on the .1ine.fifi in Fig. ,5,,d11awni-to an enlangedscale andoshowing more clearly the .consttuction LOf the .renovator head; and- .Fig. 37,.asectiontaken online @1- 'l,li'ig fi and rdrawnto. an. enlarged scale.

Refexringsto -the drawing, .the "numeral 1 0 -de .notes airotatable. renovator head which comprises, as chief amembers thereof finger teeth M .and .sidkle blades 12, all mounted togethen for .oo .epenative functioning asraun-it.

.In this instance the .finger teeth wi l are-,Vradially fixed on a shaft l3 hipneferabl-yhintwonoppo- .sitely extendingwgroups onsets liaiandilb. In each lofsthe twosets, the i individual .finger. teeth are spaced apart one from another alon the shaft i3, wand-preferably "the two sets Ha and I lb are spaced apartiequally, seeFig. '5.

The net operative result .of 'the arrangement 'desozibed, is iillusti'a'tedin Fig. '7. Here, infth'e rotation of "the renovator head it, only one set of "finger teeth, for exampleteeth 1m, will'be sunk in crown zone M at one instant, while in the next instant theteeth i'ib willhesir'rfilarly sunk, 'but at no time will "both sets be sunk at the same instant. This means that the crown zone is not miduly-disturh'edihecausethere is' sufficient "space "transversely "between "adjacent teetl-i 5021s to eliminate thewedging' aetionwh'ich "closely:together"transverselyloftthe line'of'travel tends to beexerted tupon the'ma'terial between,

if the spacing is close. The root zone is indicated at I5 and the finished lawn, after treatment, at I 6, Fig. 6.

In this instance the renovator head it is rotatably mounted at ll, in a housing 18, Fig. 5, and is driven by an electric motor l9 through a belt 20. Housing 18 is mounted on front wheels 2| and on rear wheels 22, all wheels being preferably rubber tired. A tongue 23 fixed on the housing has a handle cross-bar 24 arranged so as to be easily grasped by a user.

In order to regulate the operation of the renovator head, front wheels 2| are rotatably mounted at the ends of oscillating arms 25 which in turn are fixed on a shaft 26, the latter being journaled in outboard brackets 33 that extend rigidly from housing It. By rocking shaft 26, the housing is raised or lowered with respect to wheels 2|, thereby regulating the position of the renevator head accordingly. This rockin is effected by means of an arm 2'! which has a fixed angular relation to arms 25. Arm 2'! belongs to a leverage assembly that includes rods 28 and 29, intermediate hanger 30 and a slotted disk 3!, the latter having a handle 32 rigidly attached thereto. By rocking handle 32, the renovator head is raised or lowered as the case may be, and is optionally locked by means of a set screw 34 that engages the near depending leg of a U-clip 35. In the present instance it is desirab le that the rods 28 and 29 skirt the lower part of frame 36 in which is mounted a rotatable reel 31, the latter having wound thereon an electric service cable 48 that connects a switch 38 with the motor l9. It is deemed unnecessary to show detailed electrical connections, since such connections are well known.

When using the machine on uneven ground, wheels 2! and 22 are liable to drop into depressions and so interfere with the functioning of the renovator head. To obviate this, front guard rollers 39 and rear guard rollers 40 are provided, the former being preferably movable and the latter fixed relatively to the housing 18. The movable roller is mounted in short arms so as to be rotatable in these arms, which in turn are fixed on a shaft 42. This shaft is rotatable in the aforementioned brackets 33.

An arm 43 is fixed on shaft 42 and is connected by means of a rod 34 with another arm 45, the latter being fixed on a disk Q6 that is rotatably held in the far depending leg of the clip 35. A handle 47 is fixed on disk 46, so that rocking of handle 47 changes the position of roller 39, different positions being illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. The depth to which the renovator teeth penetrate the crown zone, Figs. 3 and 7, is thus accurately determinable.

In usin the machine, conductor cable 48 is connected to any convenient electric outlet (not shown) and is paid out as the user pushes the machine forward. Meanwhile, the motor I9 is started by means of switch 38, the user manipulating the renovator head as required, by means of handle 32 and then clamping the latter, for which purpose set screw 34 is provided. Since guard roller 39 is mounted as a part of, and moves with, housing 58, it is always in position to be used whenever uneven ground is encountered.

The utility of the guard rollers is clearly indicated in Fig. 5, where, if wheels 2i should drop into depressions such as 49 and 49a, the combs of renovator head I8 would be allowed to penetrate the higher portions 50 of surfaceil, only 4 to the depth determined by any particular setting of the guard rollers, that is to say, in this instance, until roller 39 sinks and rides on portions 50 and 5!. In this illustration the roller has just cleared the depressions.

In Figs. 4 and 6 it is observed that the renovator head rotates counterclockwise, whereby the teeth of the renovator combs at the lower points of revolution, move counter to the direction of travel of the machine. Thus the teeth attack the surface of the lawn sod from the top, thereby pressing downwardly against the resistance of the underlyin earth crust 52, Fig. 6, as indicated by arrow 53. Opposed to this manner of attack, were the rotation reversed, the point of each tooth would obviously attack the lawn sod from the underside thereby tending to produce a detrimental lifting of the sod.

At 54 is a receptacle for rubbish, which lat ter tends to travel as suggested by the curved action lines in Fig. 4. Although the initial contact of the renovator teeth with the sod is down wardlv, the lifting action of the teeth is exerted after these pass the lowermost point of revolution as indicated in Fig. 6. The high peripheral speed of the renovator head causes the teeth to create an upward suction which assists the combing or brushing action thereof to erect the grass blades and to hold these momentarily in a favorable positionto-be clipped by the sickle knives.

Whereas this invention is here illustrated and described with respect to a specific embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in said embodiment and that the generic inventive concepts involved may be embodied in various different forms by those skilled in the art, without departing from the invention as defined by the following claims. I

What is claimed is:

1. A lawn renovating machine, comprising a rotatable, single axis renovator head provided with a comb of axially spaced finger teeth arranged radially thereof; a substantially plane sickle cutter co-operatively disposed substantially perpendicular to a radius and located radially within the operative zone of said finger teeth, the radial distance to the tips of said rigid finger teeth being at least greater than is the radial distance to the cutting edge of said sickle bar; a wheeled frame in which said renovator head is operatively mounted; and a source of power disposed to rotate said renovator head.

2. A lawn renovating machine according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of finger-teeth combs are arranged in angular alternation with an equal plurality of sickle cutters about the axis of rotation of said renovator head.

3. A lawn renovating machine according to claim 1, wherein said renovator head is eccentric with respect to the wheels of said frame; and means operative to fix the position of the renovator head relative to said wheels.

4. A renovator head for lawn renovating machines, comprising a rotatable structure adapted for mounting axially in bearings in a lawn renovating machine; said rotatable structure consisting of a plurality of comb fingers with tips spaced axially and extending radiall thereof; and a substantially plane sickle cutter extendin axially of said rotatable structure and perpendicular to a radius thereof, said sickle cutter having its cutting edge disposed within the peripheral surface described by the operation of said finger REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 678,461 Egan July 16, 1901 1,538,381 Bull May 19, 1925 2,034,505 Cline Mar. 17, 1936 10 2,056,369 Roessel Oct. 6, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 15,930 Great Britain A. D. 1909 

